full title · The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the
American Civil War
author · Stephen Crane
type of work · Novel
genre · Psychological novel, war novel
language · English
time and place written · 1893–1895, New York
date of first publication · October 5, 1895
publisher · D. Appleton and Company
narrator · The narrator speaks from the third-person limited omniscient point
of view, relaying the thoughts and feelings of Henry but not those
of the other characters.
climax · Henry Fleming and Wilson lead the 304th
Regiment to an unlikely victory over the rebels, seizing the enemy’s
position and their flag.
protagonist · Henry Fleming
antagonists · The Confederate Army; the Union general who calls the
soldiers of the 304th Regiment “mule drivers”
and “mud diggers”
point of view · Henry Fleming’s
setting · An unspecified time during the Civil War; the battle
described in the novel is most likely a fictional account of the
Battle at Chancellorsville, which took place May 2–6,
1863.
falling action · After capturing the enemy’s flag, Henry reflects on
his experiences in battle and decides that he is a man of courage.
tense · Past
foreshadowing · Henry’s early conversations with Jim Conklin and Wilson establish
the choice he will later face in battle: whether to fight or flee;
Henry’s encounters with death (the corpse in the woods and Jim Conklin) anticipate Henry’s acceptance of the universe’s
indifference.
tones · Detached, journalistic, realistic, impressionistic,
sardonic, humorous, pathetic, violent
themes · Traditional versus realistic conceptions of courage,
honor, and manhood; the human instinct to survive as pitted against
the universe’s grand indifference; the struggle between self-interest and
group obligation; the psychological effects of realizing one’s own
mortality; development from innocence to experience
motifs · Noise (gossip, battle, bravado) versus silence; youth
and egoism versus maturity and selflessness; mortality as a defining
principle of courage and honor; accepting one’s past as a necessary
(and humbling) step toward maturity
symbols · Because Crane was so invested in portraying
a young soldier’s experience as accurately as possible, the novel
is not highly symbolic. There are a few exceptions: the dead soldier
in the “chapel of trees”; the red sun setting after Jim Conklin’s
death (nature’s indifference to human existence); the flag (beauty and
invincibility).
